The Time to Plan Your Future is Now

As the year winds to a close, I suppose it’s natural to look back on the previous months and ask yourself if you accomplished all that you wanted to. Are you happy with the way things have turned out? Did you accomplish your goals in your career and home life? Did you fulfill your goals spiritually, emotionally, financially? Is your life the way you want it to be? Is this the way you want it to be for the next year?

I guessing, the answer for most of us is no. Why is that? I know its not that you haven’t set goals. If you ask, most people will say they want to lose weight, get in shape, get more responsibility in their jobs, move up the ladder, have a better relationship with spouse, children, or family members. We think we’re setting goals, identifying what it is we want out of life. But judging by the results, most of us aren’t moving in the right direction. How is it that some people always seem to achieve what they want and it seems so effortless? It just isn’t fair you may be saying to yourself.

From my point of view, there are several differences between the people that get what they want in life and the people that don’t. It’s not luck; even though you may want to believe it is. It’s a 5 step process:
• First, know what it is you want. Many people have vague ideas about what they want out of life, but they haven’t clarified exactly what they want. They say they want to lose weight, or have more money, but they haven’t been specific. How much is more money? How much weight loss is losing weight?
• Second, visualize what your life will be like when you have what you want in it. What will you be doing with more money? What will it look like, feel like? What will you buy? Imagine your changed state in as much detail as possible. Focus on the happiness and joy achieving your goal will bring you.
• Third, list what you have to do differently to achieve your goal. For example, if you want more money, how could you make more money? Do you need to get another job? Can you create something to sell? Can you reduce the cost of your lifestyle so you can get by on less?
• Fourth, create a schedule of actions you can take on a weekly or monthly basis that moves you toward your goal. For example, you might brainstorm a list of 25 things you can do to make more money to be completed by the end of January. The point is to break down your goal into smaller, achievable actions.
• Fifth, do it. Don’t put it off. Don’t say you’ll do two steps next week instead of one each week. Because taking action is like a muscle, the more you do it, the stronger it gets.

Achieving your goals doesn’t happen in one day. It’s a series of smaller actions that moves you to your ultimate goal. So the time to plan your future is now. But to achieve it, you have to take action!